Following Chu Ningwu’s gaze, Chu Mother looked over and froze for a few seconds.
She quickly snapped out of it and sized the man up from head to toe.
His jet-black short hair was meticulously styled without a single strand out of place. His tailored suit was crisp and immaculate without even the slightest wrinkle. Even the partially visible tie at his collar shimmered with understated gold, clearly expensive.
A rich man.
A very rich man.
Chu Ningwu, that little vixen, obviously knew this man.
With a face like hers, of course she was going to take the crooked path.
Chu Mother sneered inwardly, but at the same time she was secretly thrilled.
If Chu Ningwu could latch onto a man like this, then the Chu family’s ancestors must truly be blessing them from beyond the grave.
Even if this girl had to become his mistress, just the scraps leaking through a wealthy man’s fingers would be enough to keep their whole family living comfortably.
Her grip on Chu Ningwu immediately loosened as she beamed at Huo Zhi Chuan like a blooming flower.
“Sir, are you here looking for our little Ning?”
Before Huo Zhi Chuan could answer, the two chubby boys had already unleashed their wild instincts.
They first struck Ultraman transformation poses, then charged at the man’s long legs like two miniature mountains.
The collision did absolutely nothing to move him, but their own foreheads hurt from smashing into his solid thigh muscles.
This only triggered some hidden competitive instinct in the boys. They immediately started swinging their little fists at his legs while shouting dramatic battle cries.
Chu Ningwu didn’t even have time to lament her terrible luck anymore.
Originally, she might still have been able to leave a complete corpse.
But now, with these two demon king bargain-bin little brothers dragging her down, she’d probably end up with her ashes scattered into the sea.
These little brats are going to be the death of me!
Still teary-eyed, the young woman hurried over and grabbed the back of their collars, yanking the two boys away from Huo Zhi Chuan and tossing them behind her.
Then she turned around and threatened them.
Her voice was sweet and soft, still trembling with tears, but her words were fierce.
“If you don’t want to die, stay away from big brother!”
The word “big brother” hit Huo Zhi Chuan like a sudden blow.
A strange heat surged through him, leaving his mind briefly dazed.
How could those two words sound so soft and sweet coming from her lips?
Like spring apricot blossom rain falling gently onto his heart, moist and sugary.
How could there be such a foolish yet kind woman?
She was being bullied this badly by her own family, her tears hadn’t even dried, and yet she was already protecting others first.
The two little tyrants were used to ruling the house like emperors and were not easy to suppress.
Even Chu Mother couldn’t stop them.
Naturally, they weren’t afraid of this weak and delicate older sister either.
They were already gearing up for another attack.
Then Huo Zhi Chuan suddenly said, “Come any closer and I’ll go find your teacher. You’ll be punished with copying test papers.”
The two boys instantly froze.
They exchanged glances, the fear of being dominated by their math teacher looming over them.
This time, they truly didn’t dare move.
Chu Ningwu blinked in surprise.
How was the male lead’s authority this powerful?
She had literally warned them they could die, and they weren’t scared.
But Huo Zhi Chuan merely mentioned telling the teacher, and they immediately behaved.
As expected of the male lead.
Terrifying indeed.
Chu Mother observed everything and began calculating.
Looks like this little slut Chu Ningwu really did manage to hook some rich fool.
He was clearly protective of her.
There was no way she could let such a big fish escape.
So she quickly said, “Sir, Yaobao and Canbao are still young and ignorant. They were just playing around. Please don’t take it to heart.”
The moment Chu Ningwu heard that classic line, she rolled her eyes and pouted before snapping back.
“How are they young? Big brother had already skipped grades and was in sixth grade at their age, and he even won a gold medal in a math competition.”
Chu Ningwu had read all this in the original novel.
The author had thoroughly documented the male lead’s life, so now was the perfect time to use it to crush this mother and her sons.
Sure enough, seeing Chu Mother awkwardly unable to reply, Chu Ningwu felt a little smug.
Xiao Ning was feeling proud, completely unaware that the tall man behind her had suddenly raised an eyebrow.
Oh?
She knows quite a lot about him.
And she was really getting addicted to calling him big brother.
Chu Mother swallowed nervously before changing the subject.
“Xiao Ning, who exactly is this gentleman? I’ve never seen him before. Why don’t you introduce him?”
Chu Ningwu’s thoughts were immediately led astray.
How was she supposed to introduce the male lead?
She barely knew him herself.
And why had he suddenly appeared here anyway?
He didn’t seem like he was here to capture anyone.
He’d been standing around for so long, only getting punched by the little chubby boys.
Where were his bodyguards?
Why hadn’t they stepped in?
Chu Mother had deliberately thrown out that question so the man would answer himself, allowing her to assess how far things had progressed.
But the man simply refused to speak.
It was as if he was specifically waiting for Chu Ningwu to define their relationship.
Whatever she said, that was what he would accept.
“Um… not very familiar. Not sure. Just passing by.”
Chu Ningwu instinctively wanted to draw a clear boundary between herself and the male lead.
And honestly, she didn’t think she was wrong.
Maybe Huo Zhi Chuan was just inspecting the area.
Perhaps he happened to notice their dramatic argument and came over to watch.
Otherwise, why was there an old security guard peeking around behind him?
According to the novel, everything under heaven belonged to the male lead anyway.
So it was perfectly normal for an evil supporting female character like her to live in one of his residential properties.
The moment those words left her mouth, the warmth that had just softened Huo Zhi Chuan’s expression from her repeated “big brother” vanished.
His gaze darkened.
The temperature around him seemed to plummet.
Chu Ningwu immediately shrank her neck nervously and glanced back at him.
Seeing the way he stared at her like a leopard eyeing prey, she instantly realized:
Wrong answer.
Just as she was desperately trying to figure out how to salvage the situation, an earth-shattering, soul-crushingly awkward disaster suddenly unfolded.
Chu Yucan had rummaged through a corner cabinet and found the medicine delivery package from the group-buy app.
In typical tyrannical fashion, he tore apart the outer packaging and pulled out the medicine box to play with.
Chu Yuyao saw there was only one box and tried to snatch it from his younger brother.
The two chubby boys began wrestling, and in the process, accidentally crushed the medicine box beneath them.
Chu Yucan was immediately upset and started fake-crying, drawing Chu Mother over to comfort him.
While sobbing, he held up the medicine box to Chu Mother.
“Mom, big brother squashed my toy.”
The moment Chu Mother saw it, she sharply sucked in a breath.
The moment Chu Ningwu saw it, she also sharply sucked in a breath.
When Huo Zhi Chuan saw it, he had absolutely no idea what it was.
Seeing Chu Ningwu’s panicked expression, he assumed it was something extremely important to her.
He strode over and forcefully snatched it from Chu Mother’s hand.
Then he shoved it directly back into Chu Ningwu’s tiny hand.
Holding the medicine felt like clutching a burning hot potato.
Her entire face cycled between pale and flushed.
Even her ears turned so red they looked ready to drip blood.
She wished she could dig a hole on the spot and crawl into it.
Seeing the little woman blushing furiously without saying a word, looking as though she’d been cursed by some horrifying object, Huo Zhi Chuan frowned and glanced down at what she was holding.
When he saw the words on the box, he fell silent for a long moment.
Then he leaned down to her ear.
In a voice only the two of them could hear, he murmured:
“What, you don’t want to carry my child?”